STORRS — The UConn women's basketball program has been built around some of the best individual players in the history of the sport, but more often than not, the Huskies' success has been reliant upon meshing the talents of several key players.

This year's Huskies seem to be finding the balance coach Geno Auriemma constantly seeks, and it's allowed them to get off to a 16-1 start and remain ranked among the top three teams in the country.

Junior Stefanie Dolson and sophomore Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis have matured into premier well-rounded players. In most games, UConn has found a third player to complement that inside-outside combination, usually either solid senior Kelly Faris or exceptionally talented freshman Breanna Stewart.

As good as the Huskies have been at piecing together effective combinations, one team in the country may be doing a better job, at least based on records. No. 4-ranked Duke (16-0), who the Huskies host tonight at Gampel Pavilion, is the only undefeated team left in Division I basketball.

"They are really good," Auriemma said. "I've said for a while that if you have a really good guard, a really good big guy and a pretty decent wing player, you have a chance to be a great team. Elizabeth Williams is great. Chelsea Gray is a really, really good guard, and Tricia Liston has become somebody that they can count on. Maybe between her and (Haley) Peters, the two of them give them pretty good wing players."

Tonight's game has the makings of a great showdown because neither team has relied solely on one player this season, and the strengths of each team seem to neutralize the other.

Duke is clearly built around Williams, a 6-3 sophomore center leading the team in scoring (15.8), blocked shots (52) and field goal percentage (57.6) while second in rebounding (6.5). She faces a real big challenge in the 6-5 Dolson, averaging 13.8 points and 6.7 rebounds with 43 assists and a 60.4 shooting percentage. She's also scored in double digits in a career-best eight straight games including 25 against Syracuse.

"There are lots of things she can do, but gosh the whole offense runs through her," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "It is pretty extraordinary that a post player at 6-5 can handle the ball as much as she does away from the basket and make the passes that she does. She really is a central cog. No one does it like her."

Duke's best passer is Gray, who has 101 assists while also averaging 14 points. She is in the top 15 in the country in assists, steals (57), free throw percentage (.891) and assist/turnover ratio. But she will most likely have to deal with UConn's defensive stopper, Faris, and will have to try to keep pace with Mosqueda-Lewis.

Mosqueda-Lewis leads UConn in scoring (17.1), threes (50), 3-point field goal percentage (.490) and free throw percentage (.900) while averaging 5.4 rebounds per game. She's scored 19 points or more in six of her last 10 games.

If she isn't enough to deal with, consider that Stewart is a 6-4 forward with outstanding range who seemed to get back on track against Syracuse with 20 points.

"I think anybody that watches Breanna Stewart can see there are things that happen on the basketball court that she is able to do that are difficult for most players to do," Auriemma said. "When she is in an aggressive mode … I would say regardless of the level of competition pretty much, if Breanna goes out on the court and says, 'I want to try to score 25 points today,' it would be very difficult for her not to do that. The only thing that would hold her back would be when she gets frustrated with herself, and then it kind of goes away."

Duke counters with complementary players like Liston, averaging 12.4 points and 5.7 rebounds while leading the team in 3-pointers with 32, and Peters, averaging 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds.

"I think they will come out ready to play, be extremely physical and aggressive, and because they are a lot older and more mature, they know how to come out and give us a great game," Dolson said.

Mosqueda-Lewis doesn't expect Duke to be the same team that has lost its last five games to UConn by an average of 29.2 points with the closest being last year's 16-point loss to the Huskies.

"You get more comfortable as you get more games under your belt," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "A lot of smarts in basketball come from just playing more. They're an older team. Chelsea Gray is a junior now. Elizabeth Williams is a sophomore now. Tricia Liston is a junior now. They've got a lot of years on us, kind of. If they come out and play to their strengths, we'll have to come out and be consistent and out-work them."

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